Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Telegraph
The Telegraph
National
Chris Price

Wednesday evening UK news briefing: Joe Biden condemns Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats

Your evening briefing from The Telegraph
Your evening briefing from The Telegraph

Evening briefing: Today's essential headlines

Stamp duty cuts | Liz Truss has been urged to cut "highly destructive" stamp duty for everyone except millionaires as part of the mini-Budget on Friday. The Prime Minister and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng are thought to believe reducing stamp duty will stimulate economic growth and get more first-time buyers on the property ladder. Read how it will work and how much you would save. Meanwhile, Jacob Rees-Mogg has unveiled a new package of support that will slash businesses' energy bills in half but a leading business group has warned that thousands of small companies risk falling through the cracks of the support scheme.

The big story: Nuclear wars 'cannot be won', says Biden

Joe Biden said a nuclear war "must not be fought and can never be won" as he issued a firm rebuke of Russia's war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin's inflammatory address today.

The President's speech to the UN general assembly in New York was reportedly hastily rewritten in the wake of Putin's announcement of a partial mobilisation in Russia and nuclear threats aimed at the West

Mr Biden said: "The United States wants this war to end on just terms, on terms we all signed up for: that you cannot seize a nation's territory by force. But the only country standing in the way of that is Russia." 

Flights out of Russia sold out on many routes soon after Putin's announcement that 300,000 reservists would be drafted into the Russian military, amid fears men of fighting age would be barred from leaving the country. 

Putin earlier said he was "not bluffing" on nuclear weapons and warned Russia would use all the means at its disposal to protect territory it plans to annex in Ukraine through sham referendums. 

Yet Mike Martin analyses why the Russian president's words actually show weakness, rather than strength, and why the "partial mobilisation" will send tens of thousands to their deaths.

A Putin propagandist threatened London with a nuclear attack in a fiery morning radio interview following the Russian president's address. 

Sergei Markov, a former member of the Russian State Duma and close advisor to Putin, told listeners of the BBC's Today programme that the president has made it "clear" that he will be ready to use his arsenal against Western countries, including "against Great Britain". 

Dominic Nicholls sets out why the West should be prepared to call Putin's nuclear bluff as he battles to keep Russia's ultra-Right on his side.

Senior Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood says Putin cannot afford to lose and we must be ready for the war in Ukraine to turn even uglier.

'Trickle-down'

Mr Biden's address to the UN came ahead of his first official meeting with Liz Truss.

The Prime Minister may face a difficult meeting after the President derided her differing ideas about economic policy as "trickle-down economics", saying on Twitter that they "never work". 

Ms Truss has also admitted a trade deal with the US is years away but James Crisp analyses why ruling it out actually strengthens her hand in post-Brexit talks

Meanwhile, Andrew Lilico outlines why her tax cutting agenda has nothing to do with a supposed allegiance to trickle-down economics.

Markets tumble

Economics will not be what Putin wants to hear about today, after the Russian stock market tumbled following his warning to the West that he is prepared to use nuclear weapons. 

The Russian president's bellicose warning sent the Moscow Stock Exchange's MOEX index plunging by as much as 10pc, marking the second day in a row of big losses. 

However the escalation also sent shockwaves through gas markets, with the European benchmark price jumping 8pc higher to about €210 per megawatt hour.

Read how it also weakened sterling and the euro.

Comment and analysis

Around the world: Eritrea's 'full scale offensive'

Rebels in northern Ethiopia have warned that Eritrea has launched a full scale offensive against them, in a major escalation of the bloody two year conflict. In a Twitter post a spokesperson for the Tigray People's Liberation Front said that heavy fighting was taking place at several points along the border between Tigray, a region in northern Ethiopia, and Eritrea. While it is hard to confirm military maneuverers because of a communications black out in Tigray, the US Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa has said that they have been "tracking" Eritrean troops' movements across the border. If Eritrea has rejoined the civil war, read why it will have devastating consequences for millions in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and will likely lead to war crimes.

Wednesday big-read

How finishing school, heartbreak and 'Camillagate' prepared the Queen Consort for the throne

The Queen Consort was brought up ‘to believe you stuck at things and didn’t give up’ - Chris Jackson
The Queen Consort was brought up ‘to believe you stuck at things and didn’t give up’ - Chris Jackson

In an exclusive extract from a new biography, Camilla's early education, teen rebellion and influence on King Charles are revealed

Read the extract

Sport briefing: Federer's last match may be with Nadal

Is Roger Federer's last appearance as a tennis professional to be a doubles match in partnership with his old rival Rafael Nadal? At a press conference in London today, the all-time great stopped short of confirming the date, but said that it would be "a special moment" if he and Nadal were to unite at the Laver Cup this weekend. Read why Federer's last bow may dismay fans who forked out thousands for tickets to Sunday’s conclusion of the Laver Cup. Meanwhile, former footballer Paul Merson, who has always been frank about his personal problems, has given an interview to Jeremy Wilson where he reveals when he has got it wrong in his attempts to be "honest and fair" as a pundit, including when he had to ring up Harry Maguire to apologise for going "too far".

Editor's choice

  1. According to the experts | What multivitamins really mean for your health
  2. Lose your inhibitions | 'I hardly noticed I was topless with this sisterhood of total strangers'
  3. Range Rover P510e PHEV, review | Simply majestic – and terrifyingly expensive

Business briefing: Pound falls to fresh 37-year low

The pound fell to a fresh 37-year low against the dollar after official figures showed the Government borrowed double the amount expected last month amid a record jump in debt interest costs. In what economists described as a "worrying" trend before the chancellor unveils billions of pounds in extra tax cuts on Friday, the Office for National Statistics said borrowing to plug the gap between taxes and spending in August was £5.8bn more than the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast. It comes as the City watchdog is to hand staff a £1,000 cost-of-living payment in an olive branch after strikes over pay reforms earlier this year. Meanwhile, adverts for chef Gordon Ramsay's gin have been banned for promoting the nutritional value of the spirit's honeyberry ingredient.

Tonight starts now

Star Wars: Andor, Disney+ | The Star Wars universe expands – and expands and expands – with a TV-series prequel to the film Rogue One. The first three episodes are released today, with the subsequent nine following at weekly intervals. With 12 episodes rather than a feature-length film to work with, creator and writer Tony Gilroy takes his time setting the scene – although there’s plenty of action to follow – and the series is stuffed with top names, including Stellan Skarsgård, Fiona Shaw and Denise Gough. However, following many battles over “creative differences”, the Star Wars universe has been left without a single film on the horizon. Ed Power analyses why nobody wants to direct a Star Wars movie and read on for the rest of this evening's television listings.

Three things for you

And finally... for this evening's downtime

Why don't men wear proper shoes anymore? | In the age of all-occasion trainers, is there still a place for formal footwear? Jeremy Langmead sets out why and when the answer is emphatically yes.

If you want to receive twice-daily briefings like this by email, sign up to the Front Page newsletter here . For two-minute audio updates, try The Briefing - on podcasts, smart speakers and WhatsApp.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.